Best way to end the school year: Run a 50k!

Rodeo Valley Inside Trail 50k

June 8 I raced the Dipsea as a tune up for another training race, Inside Trail's Rodeo Valley 50k.  Meghan suggested mid May that I sign up for a 50k to practice racing, hydration, and etc for a faster long run.  We chose this race as it was in the Marin Headlands so I knew the trails, it had a good amount of vert, and it was easily accessible from SLO.  Unfortunately, it was the day after finals week.  Finals week was filled with studying & stress as well as the labor of moving my things into a storage locker for the summer.  Not the best pre race events, as I didn't think much about the race until 5 pm Friday night when I was driving up from SLO.

I had zero expectations for the race. I just wanted to get in a good long run of 50k distance after surviving finals week and maybe get competitive with the other women. (side note: I hadn't even looked to see who was running or what the competition was like).

My gameplan was similar to how I have approached my 50ks in the past: survive the first 15 miles and just run how I normally run for long runs. Stay on top of nutrition and hydration and sing some tune in my head or chat with others to stay calm and relaxed.  Then the second half, assess how I am doing mentally, physically and competitively and then go after it. When I get to the 15 mile mark, depending on the race, I'll fixate my goal onto something- a place, a time, or whatever.

Saturday morning raceday came. I ate my usual oatmeal and coffee with almond milk two hours before the projected 8:30 am start and arrived at the line at 8 am. I chatted with a few folks and learned where the loops went.

The Crazy Awesome Course!

The race went off and everybody started out super fast. I held back the reins and chugged up Coastal, the first major climb, at a decent pace. It was probably a little faster than I should've started out at but I let the crowd carry me.  I power walked the steep part as it would be stupid to run it and run it hard that early in a race.  On SCA and Miwok, I made an effort to not bomb the downhills to save my legs for later.  It was already hot out and getting hotter.  I had a bladder in my pack so I continually sipped on my water every so often and made sure I was taking in my gels every 40 minutes.  Every twenty minutes I would alternate with gels and salt caps.  The course took us through a small loop in Tennessee Valley and the climb up Miwok and over wolf ridge just killed me. It was the worst part of the day. I felt slow and tired and hot and exhausted.  I didn't feel like I could do well or anything. I knew quitting is never even an option for me, so I didn't quite know what to do with myself. So I just kept running.  I felt better on the rolling hills along the Coast- wow what a view! When I got back to the Tennessee Valley aid station I had a sip of coke and put some ice in my sports bra. The race had turned around for me mentally and I was feeling more energized.

I charged up the Old Springs climb feeling really good. That climb felt like nothing! We headed up the steeper climb right after to hill 88, which was tough but the wildflowers made it all worthwhile.  With sweeping views of the hills and ocean just over thick bushes of multicolored pea flowers, it was hard not to feel inspired.

Finishing the first 30k loop

At the top of Hill 88 I knew it was a rough and treacherous downhill back to the start/finish area; perfect training for unknown European trails! I took them as fast as I could- not quite dipsea status as I still had another 20k loop to do, but fast enough to feel the exhilaration and near-danger from flying over rock slides and on the edge of cliffs. When I got down to the road it was 2.5 miles left of relatively flat until the Coastal climb again.  I did not realize how much I was moving until I looked down at my watch pace- 8:30s or faster! Hmm... I felt really good at mile 18 and was dropping those times? The last 20k should be a cinch and I should not stop for anything other than water! I found out at the aid station that one of the leaders got off track of the course and there were maybe one or two other women in front of me.

The excitement that I could podium or potentially win got to me and I quickly fell into race competition mode. I was constantly looking ahead, scouring the trail for a female that I could pick off.

I didn't see the next woman until we were heading down Marincello around mile 21. Boy was it hard not to run screaming down the hill to get in front of her. I knew that if I did, I might not have the legs to stay in front of her and potentially get whoever else was in front of us.  I raced through the aid station, getting ice in the sportsbra again and filling up my 16 oz soft flask, which was faster than my empty bladder.  I had caught up to her at the aid station and took off up Old Springs before she finished filling her pack.  I kept a steady effort up and up and up to hill 88, occasionally looking over my shoulder to gauge how far back she was.  Going down hill I knew I could turn a corner to get myself out of her sight and make her think I was way farther ahead than I actually was.  A somewhat bad thought I had too was that she was much older than I was and I could most definitely go screaming down the hill no problem, while she might have some trouble with footing or the impact on her quads.  So I took off, flying faster and faster downhill, not looking uphill for fear of falling, all the while running scared thinking she was on my tail.  I got to the bottom at the aid station and asked what place I was in. The woman who took the course wrong was in front of me and had probably already finished but I was in "second"!! I looked up and couldn't see her on the trail so I knew I had secured a considerable gap over her.  I did not know how much time I would have since I could not see up the trail very far.  With two miles left I ran as hard as I could on the flats to the finish. I sprinted my heart out fueled by the idea of possibly winning (by default somewhat). I was so excited I was grinning ear to ear.  I rounded the corner to see my Dad and grandparents waiting for me and the cheers of the other runners at the finish.

You can't see it but I had been grinning the last four miles...

Wow. So exhilarating! I ran 5:27 and earned second place female and 14th overall.  The woman who "won" had run the course incorrectly. She did the full pink loop first and then the pink and orange loop.  They gave her the first place win though instead of me.  She also ended up beating me by just over an hour. Even though I have no idea what kind of pace she runs at and what she is capable of, I cannot help but doubt she even ran the full course.  She had explained to me trail by trail the course two minutes before the start- how could she have missed the tennessee valley loop unless on purpose? I am not bitter she took the win from me, just questionable. I had heard she wasn't the most gracious racer at aid stations and with the race director after she had made the mistake, so I assume she needed the title more than I did.  Afterall, it is just a local trail race that happens almost every weekend. There were no high stakes or press or anything.  I had never placed better than top 5 in a race before, so taking second was definitely awesome.  I am super excited for what's to come and my recovery since the race was very quick- I am itching to get in more miles! It is so hard to hold back the reins sometimes!

Happy to be done!